A Detailed 2024 Guide to the Colmar Christmas Market
The Colmar Christmas market is an absolutely adorable Christmas wonderland set in a village that is straight out of a fairytale.
Said to be the village that “Beauty and the Beast” is based on, the town exudes idyllic Provencal life. I legitimately squealed on several occasions while exploring the streets of Colmar (and I’m no stranger to charming French villages – I’ve visited many, many towns in France in my lifetime).
Add in colorful, half-timbered buildings strung with garlands, lights, and decorations, the quaint stands in the markets, the Christmas music playing on speakers, and the Christmas trees dotting the many squares, and you can see why Colmar is a winter wonderland come to life.
But first off – the basics! Colmar is on the very eastern edge of France – right on the border of France and Germany – and is in the region of France known as Alsace. This region has actually changed hands between France and Germany several times, so it’s no surprise to see a lot of German/Bavarian influence in the town.
One thing you’ll notice is that gingerbread men are everywhere in Colmar – it is a particularly popular treat in this area of France! In French, gingerbread is “pain d’épice.”
Colmar is just an hour south of the Strasbourg Christmas Market (one of the best markets in all of Europe), and is very easy to reach. It should definitely be on your Christmas market bucket list!
Where to Stay in Colmar
These are the best hotels in Colmar – top-rated and centrally located spots in the city. I would highly recommend you book your hotel early, as hotels fill up during the holidays.
- The Colmar Hotel ($): Basic but very clean and offers free parking and free breakfast – a great value
- Hotel Le Marechal ($$): Located in the cutest part of the city, this gorgeous historic hotel makes you feel like you stepped back in time
- L’Esquisse Hotel and Spa ($$$): A luxurious hotel with an adjoining spa, and high comfort level and attention to detail throughout the property
Drinks at the Colmar Christmas Market
All over the city, you can find drink stands where you can buy vin chaud (hot, mulled wine), non-alcoholic hot cider, or hot chocolate. When you buy your drink, you also pay a small deposit for the cup it is served in.
In Colmar, the deposit was one euro for the plastic cups, and anywhere from 3-5 euro for the ceramic mugs.
Note: In other Christmas markets in Europe, the markets exclusively used ceramic mugs, no plastic cups. In France, plastic cups were much, much more common, but there were one or two stands in the city that had mugs available as well.
When you are done with your drink, bring the cup/mug back to the stall where you bought it and you get your deposit back.
Alternatively, you can keep the cup/mug as a souvenir. The mugs and cups are really cute and each city has different designs on their mugs.
We’ve been collecting mugs from the different Christmas markets we’ve visited throughout Europe (Germany in particular has an on-point mug game) and we really wanted to continue the collection in France. So, I will be making note of where we found mugs in Colmar.
Colmar Christmas Market Dates for 2024
The Christmas Market in Colmar opens on Tuesday 26 November, 2024, and closes on Sunday, 29 December, 2024.
These are the opening hours for the markets:
- Monday to Thursday: 11am-7pm
- Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 10am-8pm
- 24 December: 10am-5pm
- 25 & 26 December: 11am-7pm
In addition, the Gourmet Market is open from 11am-10pm every day.
The 6 Markets in the Colmar Christmas Market
There are 6 distinct markets in Colmar, each with its own vibe and theme. In this section, I’ll give a detailed description of what you can expect to see and enjoy at each of the 6 Christmas markets in Colmar.
Market 1: Place des Dominicains
I loved this market at Place des Dominicans – it was one of the bigger markets in Colmar, and it was set up in the cutest square!
In addition to being surrounded by cute, timbered houses, the stands themselves were timbered too, which was a wonderful touch. Each stand had a religious painting at the top of it. This market was one of two in the shadow of a church and it embraced that with its decorations and theming.
There was a good balance of wares and food at this market, with a large variety of ornaments and candles, notched rolling pins and spatulas, Christmas ceramics, and even a Santa Claus-themed stall.
There was also a little, mini kid’s ferris wheel here in Market 1.
Market 2: “Terroir” and Tradition
This market in Place Jeanne d’Arc was the smallest of the traditional markets in Colmar. The stalls were trimmed with garland, and some of them had extra decorations – like these polar bears! The theme was officially “terroir and tradition” or, the culture of the region.
This market had some tasty food offerings, such as skewers of chocolate covered fruit, sausages, or a cheese stall. There was also a stall selling mousse balls (“boules mousse”) – chocolate covered mousse, which were delicious!
Some notable wares at this market included artwork, Christmas ceramics, and wine for purchase.
Be sure to check out this building just outside the market – the shutters are covered in Christmas decorations, and there’s this adorable little Christmas scene above the first level!
Market 3: Place de l’Ancienne Douane
Market three was a FUN market! There were a lot of things happening here! First off, the theme of this market is undoubtedly toys and games. Each of the stands had a picture from the local toy museum at the top of it.
To keep the theme going, there was also a kiddie train ride with Disney characters along the track.
This market was long and skinny, winding down the street, along a canal and around a fountain, which were both insanely picturesque. The canal had decorations across the top of it, and the fountain was trimmed out in garland.
Fun fact: The fountain Belle sits at to read at the beginning of Beauty and the Beast closely resembles this fountain, the Schwendi Fountain!
Interesting goods at this market include homemade jams, cookie cutters and cookie presses, wines, specialty coloring pencils, handmade leather writing books, crayon-shaped chocolates, and even Russian nesting dolls.
Additionally, you can find traditional gingerbread, Alsacian cookies, and other Christmas ornaments and decorations.
And of course, I can’t forget to mention that the most Instagrammable spot in Colmar is found at market 3, by this Christmas tree and pink house. It’s an adorable spot!
Market 4: Indoor Market Koifhus
This was the most unique of the markets in Colmar. It was an indoor market and the vendors were set up at simple tables, no cute wooden stalls decked out with garland and other decorations. The wares for sale were the main attraction, with everything displayed being either a handmade artisanal good or an antique.
You could tell that these goods were incredibly high quality and made with a lot of care. Some things we saw included jewelry, art, chocolate sculptures, tablecloths, pinecone wreaths, books, cutting boards, and ceramic plates and serving bowls.
Note that there is a lower level and an upper level, with two different entry points for each level. The small square around the entrance to these markets is really cute, with a distinctive house decorated with polar bears and the area was magical at night.
Market 5: Petite Venise
Market 5 is in the Petite Venice area of Colmar, which is an absolutely ridiculously adorable part of town. FOR SURE plan to spend some time just wandering this area of town, especially along the Quai de la Poissonerie.
The market here had a somewhat different feel! There were still stalls selling goods and food, but there were several rides, including this horse riding ride that was, dare I say, just as fun for adults as for kids 😉
In the back corner of the market you’ll find a nativity (or crèche) with actual live animals! Now, the animals weren’t all together, but there were rabbits and sheep in different pens around the nativity area. It was a cute concept!
Between the rides, the animals, and being right next to the adorable canal, Market 5 is one not to miss!
Market 6: Gourmet Market
Finally, we have Market 6: the gourmet market. This market is one big tent, with individual food stalls around the perimeter and lots of tables for eating in the middle.
Types of foods available at the Gourmand Market include: butternut chestnut soup, spaetzle, foie gras, fried potato cakes, savory crepes, pork stew, smoked pork plate, pretzels, escargots, oysters, burgers, and truffle risotto.
As you can see, there is a wide variety of different types of foods – definitely something for everyone!
There are also cooking shows on many days – you can consult the official schedule for details.
This tent was set up in the shadow of the beautiful St. Martin’s church, with a Christmas tree decorated in gingerbread men and a reindeer ride nearby.
Bonus – Place Rapp
While not a market itself, this spot by the Champ de Mars park is a must-stop destination while visiting Colmar during the holidays.
Here, you can go ice skating (8 euro gets you admission plus ice skate rentals), ride a mini roller coaster, or get a drink at the Carousel bar.
The vibe in this area was super festive and jolly and happy!
The Carousel bar was a fun, unique spot, and it did spin (albeit very slowly!). I mentioned that we found the only mugs in Colmar in Market 1, but the Carousel bar had their own mug (with a carousel on it, of course), so we had to get one of those as well.
Plus, the drinks we got here (cranberry cider and nutella hot chocolate) were seriously top contenders for best drinks of the entire trip.
In previous years, we had found some ceramic mugs in Market 1, but in 2023, the only ceramic mugs were found at the festivities of Place Rapp.
We’ll have to see if this changes for 2024, but if you really want a mug and they aren’t in the other traditional markets of the city, then definitely swing by Place Rapp.
Map of the Markets
What to Eat
There are a lot of different options of foods to eat while perusing the markets!
- Tarte Flambée: Reminiscent of pizza or flatbread, this “tart” has a very thin, crispy crust, and is topped with cream, onions, bacon, and cheese. Delicious!
- Baguette Flambée: This is a baguette topped with cream and cheese, and then toasted. There are a lot of varieties of baguette flambée you can choose from in the case, and then it is toasted fresh for you. Don’t miss it!
- Croque Monsieur: A ham and gruyere sandwich, covered in béchamel sauce and then toasted.
- Chocolate covered fruit
- Kougelhopf: A traditional German/French cake made in a bundt pan, and sometimes with different flavors. Mini ones are 4 euro, whereas big ones can be 9-10 euro and are BIG.
- Manalas: These are essentially brioche buns shaped into a little man. They are traditionally eaten in the Alsace region to celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6, but you can buy them from the markets all season long.
- Crepes
- Pretzels
- Waffles
- Churros
- Sausages and hot dogs
Goods for Sale at the Markets
This is a sampling of the many offerings for sale at the markets around Colmar:
How Much Time Do You Need in Colmar?
Because Colmar really is just a village, one day is plenty of time to see the sites in town. The city center isn’t all that big and it’s totally walkable. There’s really no need for any kind of transportation other than your two feet to get around Colmar.
Other Things to Know About the Markets
- There are no entrance fees to visit the Christmas markets.
- I would plan to visit the markets during the day, and then wander back through the city at night. It’s a whole different vibe with all the lights on at night!
- People in Colmar speak French, of course, but many also speak German. In addition, you will find that most people interacting with tourists speak at least some English.
- Plan ahead and bring cash with you! You may be able to find a stand or two that accept cards, but most are cash only. However, there are ATMs around the city, so it’s not hard to find a spot to pull out some euros if you need more.
- Weekends are very busy, so if you can, visit on a weekday
The Wrap Up
We absolutely ADORED Colmar and the day we spent frolicking through the city and her markets. I cannot recommend Colmar enough!
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